A Very Unmerry Unbirthday
by kryptofreak
Summary: Syfy's Alice. Alice has left Wonderland, leaving Hatter alone. He's left behind, regretting not going with her. Goes into Hatter's past as well as what he did before returning to Alice.
1. Broken Emotions

Love love love this min series. Love Hatter.

I've decided to do a short fan fiction. Chapters will be kinda short especially compared to my other stories. Hope you like it!

* * *

Hatter sat in his chair, absentmindedly spinning around. It had been a week since Alice had stepped back into the Looking Glass, disappearing from his world.

So much he had wanted to tell her, yet he had lost his nerve at the moment when it had mattered the most.

"We could do pizza," the Hatter said aloud, remembering his last stupid words. "Pizza? Seriously?"

He stopped spinning, beginning to feel dizzy. Walking over to a shelf containing bottle of tea, he picked up the one labeled "Peace".

Wonderland had stopped producing the tea that used to keep the Queen's subject all doped up and numb to all bad feelings, but Hatter had yet to rid his office of the colorful teas that lined the shelves.

He stared at the tiny bottle full of the green liquid, wondering what it would feel like to take a tiny sip.

A few minutes passed and he quickly thought the better if it, placing the bottle back on the shelf.

False emotions would only fade after a while and he would be left feeling worse when they did.

_If only I had gone with her, _he thought sadly.

But would have happened if he had? Did he honestly expect them to live happily ever after? Happy endings belonged in children's stories, not reality.

And as much as Wonderland had been home to fantasy in the past, those days were gone. Alice's adventures in their magical world had been long forgotten as history and instead reduced to nothing more of legend. The kind of story small children of Wonderland were told by their parents before bedtime.

But Hatter had remembered the curious oyster that had come to his tea party all those years ago, when Wonderland was at its best. A child of seven, she had been so naïve and innocent. He and his friend March Hare (who now was dead thanks to him) had teased and confused her until she had enough and left them for more adventures.

Hatter cringed, reminded of his past friendship with the Hare that had eventually turned to a rivalry. He pushed the thought aside, not wanting to dwell on it any longer. What happened was over with. There was nothing he could do to change it.

It was funny to think of Alice of Legend after meeting the other Alice. The two were so similar yet completely different as well.

Well, the major difference was he hadn't fallen in love with the seven year old.

"What's done is done," he said out loud. "She's in her world. I'm in mine. Everything is as it should be."

"You know, talking to yourself is a sign of madness," said a voice from behind.

Hatter turned around, preparing himself for an unpleasant conversation. "What do you want?" he asked, a littler harsher than what was necessary.

Jack raised his left eyebrow. "Excuse me?"

Hatter rolled his eyes. "What do you want, _your majesty?_" he added with a mocking tone.

Jack smirked. "I'm here to see if you're all right. It's been a week since anyone last saw you."

"I'm dandy," Hatter replied. "What do you care?"

"Well, I understand the reason for-"

"You don't understand anything about me," snapped Hatter.

"All right, Hatter. I can see you don't like me very much." Hatter snorted but Jack ignored him. "I came here to make sure you were all right. We both care very much about the same person and I know she would be concerned about you. Alice-"

"Don't say her name," Hatter whispered.

"-wanted me to check up on you every once in a while to make sure you were okay."

This surprised Hatter. "What? She actually asked that?"

"Yes, before she left."

"Well then," Hatter replied, "you've done your duty. You can go now."

"Fine," Jack responded. He turned around and walked towards the door.

Hatter sat down in his favorite chair and spun it so it was facing away from where the King was heading.

"You know Hatter," Jack said from behind. "It's too late to go back for her."

Hatter spun around quickly. "What?"

Jack stood in the doorway with an unreadable expression on his face. "You should have gone with her when you had the chance. It's too late now."

"Why is that?" Hatter replied, angrily.

"You're not from her world. The Looking Glass works differently for people from Wonderland. She was guaranteed to go back to her time. If you go now, who knows what time you'll end up in? You might never find her. It was sheer luck that I came out of the Looking Glass at the right time to find her. You won't be so lucky."

"Get out," growled Hatter.

Jack smiled coolly and left the room.

His last words filled the air, threatening to choke Hatter.

_Who knows what time you'll end up in?_ _You might never find her._

"Damn it!" Hatter yelled, jumping up from his chair. He stomped over to the shelves full of teas and picked up the one labeled "Happiness".

There was no temptation this time to drink his problems away. Instead he threw the bottle as hard as he could against the floor. It smashed, its contents creating a colorful puddle.

Hatter picked up the next bottles of emotions and smashed them too. He went all around the room until the floor was covered with shattered glass and brightly colored teas.

* * *

Sad, I know, but it'll get better. It really bothered me that they didn't go much into Hatter's past so I will in this fan fic. Hoped you like it.

Like it? Hate it? Tell me what you think!


	2. A Raven and a Writing Desk

Oh my god, she's not dead!!! Sorry guys this chapter took so long, i had the dream part written forever ago, but couldn't decide what else to do. It's not an uber exciting chapter cause it's building up to the plot, but I hop eyou guys like it. Again, so sorry it took so long.

Enjoy!

* * *

"_Twinkle, twinkle, little bat. How I wonder what you're at!"_

_Hatter stayed tied to the plush armchair as the small, blonde girl skipped around him, singing in a harsh mocking tone._

"_You weren't very nice to me," she said, stopping right in front of him. "You and all your nonsense."_

_Hatter remained quiet._

"_You and your stupid party!" she yelled at him, her once innocent, childish face twisted in fury._

_She laughed without humor and began skipping again._

_Hatter stared forward without moving. Every few seconds he would see her as she passed in front of him; her blue and white dress fluttering as she skipped. _

"_You didn't help her. Just like you didn't help me."_

_Hatter jumped a bit from his seat in surprise. The voice was no longer that of seven year old Alice. Instead it belonged to the one whose voice he missed so much that it hurt. _

_She stopped in front Hatter, staring coldly at him. Her long, dark brown hair was all over the place. He glanced down, seeing her torn red tights. Blood dripped from her legs where the tights had been ripped. _

"_You failed me, Hatter," she told him quietly._

_He looked up, meeting her gaze. _

"_Alice," Hatter mouthed, his voice suddenly lost._

"_You're nothing," she replied coolly. "You and all your nonsense. It's all nothing."_

"_Alice, please," he tried again, but no sound escaped his lips._

_She rolled her eyes and began skipping around the armchair in the same fashion as the seven year old Alice. _

"_Why is a raven like a writing desk?" Alice chanted over and over again in a spiteful tone, as she made circles around him._

_Hatter opened his mouth, trying to beg her to stop, but no matter how loud he attempted to yell, he never once made a sound._

xXx

Hatter sat in his armchair staring off into space.

_It's too late to go back for her._

_Should have gone with her when you had the chance._

"Alice," he whispered softly, his fingers clasped tightly around the purple coat he had lent her during her all too brief visit in Wonderland.

"Isn't this pathetic?" said a voice from behind him.

Hatter slowly spun around in his chair, already realizing this wasn't going to be a fun conversation.

"What do you want, Duchess?" he asked in a deflated tone.

"I don't understand what was so special about this Alice girl. First you, then Jack. You know he proposed to her right before she left?" she replied.

Hatter raised his eyebrow. "He did?"

"Yes," said Duchess tartly, "She told him no. He then had the nerve to propose to me shortly after."

"I'm assuming you turned him down," Hatter responded.

The Duchess laughed softly. It reminded Hatter of the faint chime of bells.

She lifted her left hand quickly, giving him a brief view of the enormous ring on her finger.

"Not the Ring of Wonderland, but still quite pretty, don't you think?" she murmured, admiring it.

Hatter shook his head.

_Women, buy them anything shiny and they'll forgive you._

"Either tell me why you're here, or get out," he said as polite as he could possibly manage.

Duchess tore her eyes away from the glittery ring. Hatter's words had brought her out of her fantasy world back into the one of reality. The world where she had been Jack's second choice.

She sighed angrily. "I'm here to tell you to get off your butt and do something. Stop moping around. Either go after her or help with rebuilding this kingdom. Do _something_. You're the notorious Mad Hatter. Stop being this angsty lump of nothing in front of me."

"Get out," Hatter snapped.

Duchess nodded, knowing he wouldn't see reason. She turned around silently and left the room.

Hatter watched her go, feeling nothing except confusion.

_Why does she care?_ he wondered bitterly

Hatter took a deep breath and stood up. He made his way towards the small bathroom towards the back of the dwelling.

He lifted his shirt up over his head, watching himself in the mirror as he did so. It had been days since he had last seen his reflection and this time he barely even recognized himself.

Staring back at him was not the sarcastic, bold, playful Hatter he was accustomed to. Instead in front of him was a man who had given up without even trying in the first place.

He winced and looked away from the mirror, ashamed of the image. Hatter unbuckled his belt and slipped off his pants.

He stepped into the tiny shower and turned the hot water on full blast, not caring it stung his skin and made his body ache.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk!?" he bellowed suddenly, slamming his fist against the tile wall.

"Why is a raven like a writing desk?" he whispered softly to himself, a few moments later.

Hatter continued muttering the question to himself until the hot water ran out and he was left there standing in freezing water, shivering like mad.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------So what did you think? Like it? Hate it?


	3. Cabbages and Kings

Wow, it's been a year. To be completely honest I wrote the first chapter right after watching Alice on a whim, thinking it would be fun. And then people really liked it so I wrote a second chapter. I never really planned to spend a lot of time on it because I have one other fan fiction that I've really invested a lot of time in and I wanted to focus more on that. When the hype of Alice began to die down I thought people weren't going to be reading fan fiction for it much longer. I had written about half this chapter last year but never bothered to finish it. I had almost forgotten about it. But, about a day ago I revieved an email for a review telling me not to abandon the story because they really liked it. So I decided to go back and read it and continue with this chapter.

I'm so sorry this update took a year. I hate when I start a story and then the author just lets it die. So I'm going to try my best with this one. I currently am working on a fan fiction that I've been writing for four years and that is coming to an end. So once that is done I'll have more time for this one.

I hope you guys like it!

xXx

Hatter sat on the front steps of his shut down tea shop. He watched as people hustled by as everyone pitched in to rebuild the kingdom.

_Into what, exactly? _he thought bitterly. _The stories of old? When Wonderland was magical? Those days are gone._

"Hatter! Hatter!" shouted a young boy, running up to him. Well, actually he was over a couple hundred years old, yet he still looked to be less than thirteen.

The boy paused to catch his breath, panting heavily. Hatter was unsurprised, for the boy was rather large. His normally chubby, pale face was now tinted red as he gasped and choked.

"You okay, Humpty D?" Hatter asked, not getting up.

A few seconds later Humpty straightened up. "I'm fine. Guess I'm just not as athletic as I used to be."

Hatter had to refrain from laughing. The thought of this very plump boy ever being athletic was as ridiculous as the thought that Jabberwockies were cuddly.

It was no wonder that Oysters believed him to be a giant egg. He honestly did look like one. Although Hatter would never dare tell that to his face.

"It's great to see you, Hatter!"

"And why is that?"

"Well, it's been a while. No one has seen you for weeks. And we've always been such great buddies," Humpty replied, grinning.

Hatter raised his eyebrows, suspicious. "We have?"

Frankly, the small – well, small wasn't the right word - frankly, the squat boy was more like a nuisance to Hatter. But in the past he had been a more than generous customer, so Hatter had treated him like a friend.

The grin slipped from the boy's full face. "Fine, we both know the real reason why I'm here," he said, no longer sounding like the young, innocent child he pretended to be.

"Tea shop is closed, my friend," Hatter answered. "Once the Queen was defeated all the Oysters went home. No more emotions left."

"Surely you must have some teas that never were sold."

Hatter shook his head, despite the fact that he did. Sure, he had smashed the teas that had been in his office, but there still were quite a few bottles left in storage that he hadn't gotten around to destroying yet.

"You're poker face is slipping," Humpty snapped. A hungry, desperate look flashed in his eyes. "Now, I'm willing to pay you more than ever before for your entire left over stock."

Hatter stared at him with an unwanted feeling of pity. This is what the teas did to people. They made them desperate, willing to do anything to get the next fix. Humpty might have been a proud know-it-all in the past, but he still had been the tiny bit likeable before the teas. Now he was just a pathetic prat.

"Go away, Humpty," Hatter sighed.

Humpty's face contorted with anger. "You'll regret this," he growled, turning away.

This time Hatter let the laughter escape. Humpty had little power in this world. Years of being nothing more than a fat lump had eroded him until he was the same as every Average Joe, drinking teas to feel fake emotions.

The laughter faded from his lips with the sobering thought. The teas had destroyed everything that was once good and wonderful in Wonderland.

For a second he considered going back inside his sheltered home. He had hoped venturing outside would make it easier to ignore the throbbing ache in his heart, but it seemed to only make it worse. Out here he was surrounded by people, yet still alone.

Always alone.

Yet something held him to his seat. Going back inside would only be the cowardly thing to do and Hatter was sick of being a coward.

He stood up abruptly and began walking in the direction that would lead him to Jack's brand new, shiny palace that had been just finished in during the past week.

For a man that promised his new kingdom equality for all, he was certainly making a big show of how important, and wealthy he was.

Saying the castle was elaborate was a major understatement. Its design was of the Victorian style.

To Hatter it seemed too proper and stiff for a world that was once so exotic and chaotic.

Hatter sighed, trying to shove away memories of the Wonderland that truly had been magical. It was no use though as the good old days of crazy tea parties (crazy because the tea usually contained some sort of liquor) and hanging out with his best friend came rushing back to him.

But all things must change and eventually Hatter had to grow up. Things became more serious and all those blurred lines became straight. Wonderland lost its magic and slowly began to decay.

Then came the war and the new Queen of Hearts came to power. Hatter learned the only way to survive the new world was to blend in and become one of the corrupted. Along the way he discovered he could help the ones who resisted the new reign, but deep down he knew it would never be enough to account for all his wrong doings.

That tea shop of his had destroyed countless lives; not only those of Oyster that were sucked dry, but also the ones who bought and drank the false emotions.

Hatter shook his head, clearing it. He was here for a purpose.

A guard stopped him at the door, asking for what business he had there. At first he was denied entrance, but after telling the guard who he was he was allowed to enter.

Hatter walked inside to a large sitting are. His footsteps made loud noises in the much to silent room. It was lavishly decorated, making it pretty, but had no personality or originality to it.

_Much like Jack,_ Hatter thought, smirking.

Another guard told Hatter to wait while he told Jack of his visit.

Several minutes later the guard came back and led Hatter through the sitting room and up a grand staircase

They traveled down a long hallway lined with paintings of rather boring people, at least until the last painting. At the end of the hall was a giant framed canvas. Its image was of a young girl looking up at a tree branch where a grin floated in mid air. The colors of the sky and of Alice were bright and cheery. But, upon further inspection, Hatter noticed a terrifying shadow that loomed in the background.

Hatter stared at the painting of Alice and the Cheshire cat, wondering why this painting, so out of place in this stiff castle, was here. The picture itself was odd. The juxtaposition between the whimsical scene with its happy colors and then the lurking shadow made Hatter's insides squirm.

Was that the purpose of the painting? To prove that the legendary Wonderland was merely an illusion, masking something much more sinister underneath?

Hatter broke out of his thoughts and looked at the guard, who was watching him carefully.

"You're not the only one," the guard said. "Most people find it unsettling as well. But the King insisted on having it."

Hatter glanced back at the painting. Was it just his imagination or did Alice herself now look less innocent and depicted crueler? Was the Cheshire's Cat grin more wicked than at first glance? Or was it just merely the thought of the shadow that corrupted the rest of the image?

He shook his head as if the clear it. "Um, is there a particular reason we are just standing here?"

The guard nodded. To Hatter's surprise he reached out and knocked on the painting. "You're going to want to step back a bit, sir," the guard said with a hint of a smirk.

Confused, Hatter did so, along with the guard.

After a few more moments of silence the painting swung forward, revealing a hallway.

"Sir, if you please, just follow down there," the guard said. He then turned and left, making his way back down the long hallway.

Hatter cautiously walked into the hall. After just a few steps, the painting behind him closed, making him jump. He continued down the hall, his footsteps, the only noise, echoing of the walls.

It wasn't long before he could see another door. He reached it and knocked three times. When no one answered he tried the doorknob, surprised to find it unlocked.

The room Hatter entered was the grandest he had ever seen. A chandeliers made of what he assumed could only be diamonds hung in the center; lights bouncing off it, making the room shine. In the middle of the room was a desk. Its occupant did not smile at Hatter as he approached him, but rather stared coolly, his face a hard mask.

"Hatter, I had a feeling you'd come around eventually," Jack said, his tone polite, yet disdainful. He eyed Hatter, expectedly.

Rolling his eyes, Hatter bowed slightly.

"That's better. Now what matters would you like to discuss? Although I'm almost certain I already know."

Acting as if Jack hadn't spoken Hatter remarked, "Interesting entrance. A bit unnecessary don't you think?"

Jack frowned. "This is my private office. Seclusion was a necessity, Hatter. Don't want just anybody allowed to come bother me." He stared directly into Hatter's eyes on the word bother, letting him know exactly how he already felt about this meeting.

"Are you a dick to everyone, or just me?" Hatter asked, a smirk on his face.

"Watch it. You are speaking to your king here. Respect is in order. Now enough fooling around, why are you here?"

"The time has come," Hatter said, with a defiant grin on his face "to talk of many things, of shoes and ships and sealing wax, of cabbages and kings."

Jack slammed his fist down on his desk. "Enough, Hatter! Stop with this nonsense! Either tell me why you are here or get out. My time is better spent dealing with things other than you."

The grin slipped from Hatter's face and he became somber. "I want to find Alice. I don't care if it takes me a million tries. I need to find her."

Jack remained silent. For many minutes no one spoke.

"Did you hear me?" Hatter asked, an edge to his voice. "I need the mirror. I'm guaranteed to come back to my correct time. I'll just keep going back and forth till I find her."

Jack pursed his lips. "I'm afraid that is not possible."

"Why not?" Hatter growled.

"The mirror is not a toy. From now on there will be a price to pay in order to travel through it. And I'm positive you can't afford it."

"What?"

"In order to prevent people taking advantage of the mirror or using it for the wrong purposes I have decided that only those who are willing to pay a large amount of money will be allowed to use it. This ensures that people are using it because they truly wish to travel away from Wonderland and plan to never come back."

"No," Hatter shouted, "I need that mirror. I have to find her."

"Well, I suppose you must start saving and hope luck is on your side. Wouldn't want to end up after she had died or before she was born."

"You son of a bitch-"

"Yes, she was one. A horrible queen as well. But now it is my turn. I did not decide this new law to make you miserable Hatter. I believe it is the best way to prevent something like my mother's reign from ever happening again. And I'm sorry, but you are not an exception. You don't get any special treatment. If you can't pay, you can't use the mirror. Our business here is done. Go back the way you came. I don't think-"

"Then you shouldn't talk," snapped Hatter. Then without letting Jack have time to retort, he turned around to travel back down the hall.

When he got to the end, the painting opened up once more to let him out. He had walked a few feet before he heard a faint giggle and a young girl's voice.

_How I wonder what you're at!_

Hatter spun around, the hair on the back of his neck raised. But of course he was alone. Only the picture of Alice of Legend was behind him.

"I must be going mad," he whispered to himself. The Cheshire Cat's grin from the painting seem to leer at him in response.

Almost as if it was saying '_We're all mad here'_

xXx

So what did you all think! Did you catch some of the quotes from the two books?


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